Five patients infected with a rare strain of the Ebola virus have recovered in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, World Health Organization President Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on Sunday, during the opening of a new treatment center in the eastern city of Bunia.Speaking at the facility in Ituri province, the epicenter of the current outbreak, Tedros said four patients would be discharged from hospital on Sunday, while another left hospital two days ago.
The Associated Press quoted Tedros as saying: “Four people will be discharged from the hospital today, and there was one person who was discharged from the hospital the day before yesterday.”He added: “Of course, we are still working on vaccines and treatments, but that does not mean that people cannot recover from Ebola.”The World Health Organization said on Friday that a patient had recovered from the Bundibugyo virus strain, for which there is currently no approved vaccine or treatment. The organization described it as the first documented case of recovery of a confirmed Bundibugyo patient during the ongoing outbreak.According to the latest official figures reported by the World Health Organization, there are 906 suspected cases and 223 suspected deaths. Meanwhile, Uganda, a country neighboring Congo, has confirmed nine cases and one death, according to the country’s Ministry of Health.
The announcement came as relief agencies warned that the outbreak was spreading faster than response efforts. Doctors Without Borders on Saturday called for expanded testing, faster deployment of aid workers and uninterrupted access to medical supplies.Health workers have also faced increasing resistance from some communities, where anger over strict burial protocols for Ebola victims has led to at least three attacks on health facilities.During the opening ceremony, Tedros urged residents to seek medical care at the first sign of symptoms.“If you come to health facilities when you have symptoms, you can get support and recover, so the key is to come forward as soon as possible and get the necessary support,” he said.“We can stop this Ebola and anyone who has it can recover, too,” Tedros added. “But the rule… is that this is everyone’s business and every citizen must participate in it.”“The final message we would like to share with the Ituri community is that there is hope,” Pierre Akilimali, Incident Director at the National Institute of Public Health of Congo, said at the opening of the new treatment centre.
